Now with the Oakland Raiders, Pryor received a five-game suspension during his final season, and openly discussed why he made those decisions.

"The reason why I did it was to pay my mother's gas bill and some of her rent," Pryor told Sports Illustrated. "She was four months behind, and the (landlord) was so nice because he was an Ohio State fan. He gave her the benefit of the doubt and she said, 'My son will pay you back sometime if you just let me pay you back during my work sessions.' She ended up losing her job, and she and my sister lived there.

"Let me remind you it was freezing cold in November, December and she's using the oven as heat. That's what I did as a kid. I was telling the NCAA, 'Please, anything that you can do. I gave my mother this so my sister wouldn't be cold, so my mother wouldn't be cold.' They didn't have any sympathy for me."

Pryor said he has receipts to prove that the money went toward the family's bills and not personal use.

"Whenever I write my book, the proof will be in there, the receipt that the money I gave my mother was to pay the electric and heat bill," Pryor told the magazine. "The truth is going to come out one day when the time is right. I don't think I deserved (being punished) in that way, because of the reason I was doing it. I felt like I was doing God's work in a way, and I was getting driven into the ground."

After his suspension, Pryor decided to enter the NFL supplemental draft, and was selected by the Raiders. Later, he was banned from associating with his alma mater for five years.

The experience affected him.

"It was humbling," Pryor told Sports Illustrated. "A mistake I made when I was a freshman by selling my pants for $3,000 just took away everything from me. I was just driven into the ground. I was the worst person in the world. My face popped up on the screen, and it seemed like I was the only one who did anything. I was the only one who was getting attacked."

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